Sectional cast metal boiler



May 29, 1934.

| N. HUNTER SEGTIONAL CAST METAL BOILER 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Mary 6, 1951 INVENTOR L. N. HUNTER SECTIONAL CAST METAL BOILER May 29, 1934.

3 sheets-sheet 2 Filed May 6, 1931 INVENTOR N. HUNTER 1,960,310

SECTIONAL CAST METAL BOILER Filed May 6, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 May 29, 1934.

lPatented May 29, 1934` UNiTED @STATE-S PATENT OFFICE 1,960,319 sncrloNAL cAs'r METAL nomia Louis N.. Hunter, -I'ohnntown, Pn., assignor to National Radiator Corporation, Johnstown,-Pa., a corporation oi Delaware i Application May 6, 1931, Serial No. 535,332

12 Claims. (Cl. 122-223) This invention relates to water heaters vand each section are hub portions 6 having each an boilers, and more particularly to heaters vof the opening therein for the reception of anipple, so type comprised of a plurality of cast metal secthat when two sections are placed together facetions and wherein the heater is especially adapted to-face the hub portions 6 will come together to be red by a gas burner. e and the nipple serve to form a tight joint between 60 Boilers of this type are generally formed of a such adjacent sections. Innghe center ofthe top plurality of parallel sections, each of which is of each section i is a similar opening '7, so that hollow, to provide a water chamber within the 'all ofthe sections will communicate with .each sections, and the sections are in communication other at the top,

with eachother through nipples iitted into regis- The lower portion of the section between the 65 tering Derts in the sections. 'I'he sections themfront and rear hubs '6 is of downwardly decreasing selves are maintained in spaced relation to pro-l cross-section, as shown in Figure 7, this tapered vide flues between the sections through which portion being designated 8. Cast integrally on hot gases of combustion can circulate. this portion 8 are a plurality of vertically extendv According to the present invention there is ing ns 9. These fins provide heat absorbing sur- 70 provided a furnace of improved construction faces. Each side face of the section is transwherein amore eicient circulation of water withversely corrugated, the corrugations on one side inthe sections is set up and wherein a large surface being designated 10 and on the other side lface area is provided for the absorption of heat face being designated 11. The corrugations 11 from the ue gases. are staggered with reference to the corrugations 75 The invention may be readily understood by 10, so that when two sections are jointed together, reference to the accompanying drawings in which as shown in Figure 3, the gases which travel up Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a between the vertically lextending fins 9 4will be water heater or boiler constructed in accordance delivered into the bottom of a sinuous passage 12 with my invention; formed between the ribs or corrugations 10 of one 80 Figure .2 is a side elevation thereof; section and the ribs or corrugations 1l of the ad- Figure 3 is a detail View on a larger scale showjacent section, as will be clearly seen in Figure 3. ing three sections arranged together, the view The gas passages are of upwardly decreasing being in the sainey plane as Figure. 1'. In Figure width and are free of pockets where dead gases 3 the hood is not shown; may accimulate so thatthegases travel through 85 Figure 4 is a transverse vertical section through the ues with sufcient velocity and effective heat one 'of the side sections of the boiler; f transfer is obtained.l 'Ihis decrease in the width Figure 5l is a fragmentary view of the top of of the passages can be seen in Figure 3 and is obthe boiler showing the hood in place thereon; tained by decreasing the depth of the corruga- 135 Figure 6 is an elevation of one ofthe sections, tions.

. 0 the view being in a plane at right angles to- Above the'corrugated portion ofthe section is 9 Figure 3; f a attop portion 13, and the hub or boss-'7 at Figure 7 is a transverse vertical section through the center of the top of the section is formed in the section shown in Figure' 6, the view being in this flat portion. The section is provided with 40 Substantially the Plane 0f 1in 0f Figmarginal anges 14, these flanges coming to- 95 ure 6; and y o gether in abutting relation to substantially close Figure 8 is a side elevation of the section shown the space between the sections except, however, in Figure 7- that the flanges are'cut away at 15, as shown The water heater or boiler, as viewed in Figure Figure 3; to provide elongated vertical windows 1, iS comprised V0f WO Side Sections 28nd 3 be- `across the frontA of the furnace, the purpose of 100 tween which are a plurality 0f intermediate Sethese windows being to give access to the ue tions 4- A11 0f the Sections are made 0f cast spaces between the sections. In the completed Y iron There may be any desired number 0f 111- !urnace cover plates are provided for these win-A termediate sections 4, this depending on the` dows. The marginal ange is also broken away Capacity 0f, the furnace. The construction of at the top of the section, ais-indicated at 16,- so that 105 these intermediate sections is best seen by rei'er'- K the gases of combustion, after traveling up the ence to Figures 6 and 7. As shown in Figures 6 sinuous passages 12, ow between the at surfaces and 7, each of these intermediate sections is 4hol- 13 in an extension of the flue' passage 12, and` low, the interior 'thereof being designated 5. l escape at the top v'of .the boiler through the pas- At the front and rear of the bottom portion of sages provided-at 16 where the marginal flangesy 110 forwardly of the center line of the section and the bailles 19 are located rearwardly of the center line. The baiiies 18 have a slight upward slope from the boiler toward the center line of the section, and the baffles 19 are similarly sloped. 'I'he baffles 18 do not extend to the front wall of the boiler nor do they extend to the center line, but they span the greater portion of the distance between the center line and the front. The bailles 19 are similarly arranged in the back half of the section. It will also be noted that the bottom of the section is also sloped slightly from the front and rear bosses or hubs`6 upwardly toward the center.

The hottest part of the boiler is mid way-be-Y tween the front and the back walls thereof directly over the center of the burner. Consequently, the water is hottest at this point. By the arrangement of the internal baiiies 18 and 19 as described,

there is a clear unobstructed vertical passage up the center of the section between the inner ends of the baffles 18 and 19. 'Ihe coolest portions of the boiler' are immediately adjacent the front and rear walls. The construction of theinternal bailles allows an unobstructed vertical passage between the outer ends of the baille 18 and the front wall of the boiler, and likewise there is an unobstructed vertical passage between the outer ends of the baille 19 and the rear wall of the section.

By means of this arrangement the highly heated Water at the center of the section rises up the central passageway as indicated by the dotted arrows, flows laterally between the baffles 18 and 19 to the unobstructed vertical passageways at the front and rear of the section, and having cooled in this travel drops down into the bottom part of the section where, as it becomes increasingly hot, it is forced toward the center and again repeats its cycle of circulation. The internal bales thereby provide the effect of a true tubular structure with divided circulation between both the front and the rear walls with the structural advantages,l however, of an integral cast metal section. This tubular effect provided by the provision of the batiies 18 and 19 weighs less than a cast metal section wouldweigh if made with true tubular passageways, as has heretofore been proposed.

- The internal bailles 18 and i9 have the further effect of considerably strengthening the sections, so that the corrugated walls of the sections can be relatively thin and light and still have ample strength.

It will be noted, moreover, that while the sections are corrugated, and the corrugations are staggered, so that when two sections are put together, a substantially sinuous'passage 12 is provided between them, yet the corrugations 10 and 11 do not project beyond the plane of the marginal flanges of the section, or beyond the plane of the hub or boss portions 6 and '1. This is clearly apparent from Figures '7 and 8 'where it is'readily seen that the outermost portions of the corrugations 10 and 11 do not extend out as far as the marginal portions of the sections. This is of considerable advantage from aA manufacturing standpoint, both for the reason of casting and also because of the fact that the section can be laid on a fiat grinding surface and the faces lof all of the flanges 14 and the hubs 6 and 'I smoothed off in a single operation.

Heretofore where corrugations have been provided it has been proposed to have these corrugations project beyond the plane ofthe surface of the section in order to produce an overlapping effect.

The side sections 2 and 3 are substantially similar to the intermediate sections except that the outer face thereof is smooth, but the internal baiiles being provided. Each side section is provided with a downwardly projecting solid integral leg portion 20 so that the bottoms of the intermediate sections 4-are supported in a plane above the oor on which the boiler is set. This space under the intermediate sections provides the fire box, and I have shown this fire box as being provided with a burner manifold 21 extending across the front of the furnace which supplies gas to a plurality ofJburners 22, the burners extending from the manifold to the rear of the furnace.

Theside sections, moreover, are provided on the j.

outer faces thereof with an inlet connection 23 which is at the center of the section near the bottom thereof and an outlet opening or connection 24 near the top thereof.

Each of the sections '4 has at the top thereof an upstanding flange 25 and outside of this flange is a shoulder or ledge 26. The side sections 3 and 4 have a similar flange 27 extending from the front to the rear thereof, this flange having an outer ledge 28. The purpose of these flanges and ledgesis'v to provide a means for holding the hood 17 in place on the top of the furnace. The hood sets -outside the flanges 25 and 2'7, resting on the shoulders 26, and a furnace cement can be used to make the joint tight. The advantage of this arrangement over constructions heretofore provided has been that as heretofore constructed the cement could break loose and fall down into the passageways between the sections.

With the present construction the cement is outside the anges 25 and 27 and if it comes loose it lodges on the outside of the furnace and cannot get down between the sections.

- The boiler or heater as thus constructed provides al structure which is highly efficient. The sinuous liues 12 between the adjacent sections give a long gas travel, while the provision of the ns 9 below the corrugated portions increases the heat-absorbing area of the section and serve to distribute the flue gases.l The internal bafties as arranged in each section produce,-in effect, a number of horizontally extending `passageways going to the front and the back of the section from the center thereof, allowing for the circulation of water in the manner described. This gives the advantage of a section having individual ues the lightness of weight and a large heating surface of the lcontinuous section. The provision of individual tubes, moreover, is not so desirable because the individual tubes form dead air pockets through which the gases do not circulate eiliciently.

-While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that this is merely by way of illustration and thatvarious changes and modifications may be made in the detailed construction and arrangement of parts within the contemplation of my invention and under the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a heater of the class described, an integral cast metal section having spaced apart side walls and havinga plurality of straight internal bailles connectingsaid side walls, the baiiles befull length of the section, the baliles being of such length as to extend from the central passage to a position near the ends of the sections,` there being a single open passage at each end of the sections, these open passages leading from the said bottom portion up past said series of baies, the bailles of each series having a slight upward inclination from their outer ends toward the center o f the section, the single open passage along the bottom of the section having a greater crosssectional area than the cross-sectional area of the passageways formed between the baies.

2. In a heater of the class described, an integral cast metal section having continuous spaced apart side Walls, two series of transverse baies within the section connecting the side walls, one series being disposed at one side of the center line of the section and lone series being disposed at the other side of the center line of the section, said baflies being sloped downwardly from the inner Yends thereof toward the outer edges of the sections and being arranged to provider'an'unobstructed common vertical central channel betion extending horizontally along `the length of the section, the channels at the outer ends of each series of bafiies being unobstructed between the ends of the baiiies and. the outside end walls of the section.

3. ln a heater construction of the class described, anfintegral cast metal section having spaced apart continuous side walls, the lower portion of which is provided with a plurality of spaced apart vertically extending upwardly divergng hns and the intermediate portion of which is provided with transverse corrugations, the corrugations on one side being staggered 'with reference to those on the other, said sections having surfaces thereon adapted to abut against corresponding surfaces of an adjacent section, the peaks of the corrugations lying within the plane of ,such surfaces, the dlverging iins aiding to provide a distribution of flue gases across the full depth of the section.

ll. In a heater construction of the class described, an integral cast metal section having spaced apart continuous side walls, the lower portion of which is provided with'a plurality vof spaced apart vertically extending ns and the intermediate portion of which is provided with transverse external and internal corrugations, the corrugations on one face being staggered with reference to those on the other, said sections having surfaces thereon adapted to abut against corresponding surfaces of an adjacent section, and two series of transverse baffles within the section one at the front of the center line thereof and one to the rear of the center line thereof, said bales connecting the side walls of the section intermediate the corrugations, said baffles being arranged in two vertical series separated from each other b y a .common vertical passage and extending from the vertical passage in opposite directions toward the ends of the section, there being la vertical passage at each end of the section at the ends of the bales, the section .having a. continuous horizontal bottom portion into which said vertical passages lead, said bottom portion being horizontal.

5. In a heater construction of the class described, a metal section having spaced apart side walls, the section having a lower portion, an intermediate portion and an upper portion, the lower portion of the section comprising a continuously open horizontal passage extending substantially the full length of the section, the intermediate portion of the sectlon having a vertical series of' internal baiiies at each side of the center line vof the section extending longitudinally of the section, there being a common vertical channel between the two series of baiiies leading from the bottom portion of the section to leach end of the section leading from the top portion into the bottom portion, the bottom portion of the section having connector ports in the side faces thereof at eachy end thereof, the top portion of the section having a connector port in each side face thereof at the center, the interior of the section being such that circulation in a generally horizontal direction may take place at substantially any plane in the section across the entire width of the section.

6,. In a heater construction of the class described, a metal section having spaced apart side walls, the section having a lower portion, an intermediate portion and an upper portion, the lower portion of the vsection comprising a continuously open horizontal passage extending substantially the full length of the section, the intermediateportion of the section having a vertical series of transversely extending internal baiiies at each side of the center line of thesection, there being a common vertical channel between the two series of baffles leading from the bottom portion of the section to the top portion of the section, said bales 'being so disposed as to leave vertical passages at each end of the section leading from the top portion into the bottom portion, the bottom portion lof the section having connector ports `in the side faces thereof at each end thereof, the

scribed, a metal section having spaced apart side v so disposed as to leave vertical passages at each end of the section leading from the top portion into the bottom portion, the bottom portion of the section having connector ports in the side faces thereof at each end thereof, the top portion of the section having a connector port in each side face thereof at the center, the side walls of the intermedate portion of the sectionbhavlng external and internal corrugations, the corrugations on one side being staggered with respect to those on the other side, the baies being positioned between the corrugations, the corrugations having a slight inclination upwardly from the ends toward the center of the section, the baies being substantially parallel with the corrugations.

`8. In a heater construction of the class described, a metal section having spaced apart side walls, the section having a lower portion, an intermediate portion and an upper portion, the lower portion of the section comprising a continuously open horizontal passage extending substantially the full length of the section, the intermediate portion of the section having a vertical series of internal baiiies at each side of the center line of the section, there being a common vertical channel between the two series of bailies leading from the bottom portion of the section to the top portion of the section, said baies being so disposed as to leave vertical passages at each end of the section leading from the top portion into the bottom portion, the bottom portion of the section having connector ports in the side faces thereof at each end thereof, the top portion of the section having a connector port in each side face thereof at the center, the side walls of the intermediate portion of the section having external and internal corrugations, the corrugations on one side being staggered with respect to those on the other side, the bales being positioned between the corrugations, the corrugations being of vertically diminishing depths and having their outer surfaces in the same plane, whereby the width of the passage between the sections diminishes toward the top of the boiler when a plurality of said sections are arranged side-by-side in a vertical plane.

9. A gas red boiler comprising a. plurality of metal sections arranged in side-by-side relation, each section having a bottom portion, an intermediate portion and a top portion, gas circulating passages being provided between the adjacent sections, intermediate portions of the, sections having external and internal corrugations thereon, those on the one side of the section being staggered with reference to those on the other, whereby the gas passage between the intermediate portions of the adjacent sections is sinuous, said gas passage being of upwardly decreasing width, the bottom portion of the section being downwardly tapered and having vertically extending upwardly diverging ns thereon for drecting the gases into said gas circulating passages and distributing the gases across the depth,

stantially rectangular section having spaced apart side faces enclosing a substantially rectangular chamber, said chamber being provided with two series of longitudinally extending internal bailles one at each side of the vertical center line of the section, said baiiles being of such length that there is a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the two seriesat the center of the section and a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the outer ends ofthe baies and the outermost side edges of the section, all of said vertical channels opening into 'a common space in the upper part of the section, the section having a central port in a side face thereof within the confines of the section and above said series of baffles through which communication may be established with other sections, there being circulating spaces within the section above the series of baiiles at each side of said port.

l1. In a heater of the class described, a substantially rectangular section having spaced apart side faces enclosing a. substantially rectangular chamber, said chamber being provided with two series of longitudinally extending internal baflies one at each side of the vertical center line of the section, said baffles being of such length that there is a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the two series at the center of the section and a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the outer ends of the baies and the outermost side edges of the section, all of said vertical channels opening into a common space in the upper part of the section, the section having a central port in a side face thereof within the confines of the section and above said series of bailes through which comn munication may be established with other sections, there being circulating spaces within the section above the series of baflies at each side of said port, there being a baffle above said central channel and below said port.

12. In a heater of the class described, a substantially rectangular section having spaced apart side faces enclosing a substantially rectangular chamber, said chamber being provided with two series of internal baffles one at each side of the vertical center line of the section, said bailies being of such length that there is a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the two series at the center of the section and a substantially unobstructed vertical channel between the outer ends of the baffles and the outermost side edges of the section, the section having a central port in a side face thereof within the confines of the section and above said series of baiiies through which communication may be established with other sections, there being circulating spaces within the section above the series of baflies at each side of said port, said section also having ports therein at the bottom corners thereof for communication with adjacent sections.

LOUIS N. HUNTER. 

